We have four pages of great letters this month, so please check them all out!
My name is Bob Richmond. I was drafted from the Washington Senators to play
with the Pilots, in, I believe, 1968, but I never signed a contract as the
Pilots were going to send me back to AA ball (can't remember where AA
was, been too long). I originally was signed by the Phillies in 1964 and
was on their major league roster for 1964, then got drafted by the Senators
and was on their major league roster playing in the Carolina League. I got drafted by the Pilots but had major arm problems and we
could not come to contract terms, so I left Arizona and went home. I
received a new contract the following year for twice the $ amount I had asked
for when I left, but by that time I had a family and my arm never got better,
so I decided to call it quits. What a great 3-4 years I had though playing
ball. Reason I answered your e-mail is that I had another player that also
got drafted by the Pilots that had played with me with the Senators and did
not see his name on any of your rosters--his name was John Shoe--tall, lanky
guy, black hair, about 6' 4" tall---I am pretty sure he did not play that
season either, as Pilots wanted to send him to AA also. I have not heard
from him since then but thought you might be interested. I'm pretty sure my
spelling of his name is correct but not positive. Just thought you might be
interested. Think your homepage is great--some of these names bring back
lot of memories.
—robr-rmc
NOTE FROM MIKE: Bob was drafted by the Pilots in the fifth round of the expansion draft, on October 15, 1968. Although the Pilots had no AA team, they may have arranged to send him to the Senators' AA team in Savannah.
J.D. McCarthy visited Calumet every fall in the late 1950s and early '60s, after the baseball season ended. He would always come up to the Calumet Golf Course when he was in town and I got to know him well because I worked at the course. I think he had relatives in the area, but I can't remember the family name. He usually had a big pile of his postcard photos in the backseat of his car and gave me numerous cards of my favorite Tiger players. I still have a number of them along with my baseball card collection. He also gave me a beautiful huge color picture of Roberto Clemente which I lost somewhere along the line.
I seem to remember him telling me that he photographed all the American League players in Detroit and went to Wrigley Field in Chicago to shoot the National Leaguers. I looked at some of my old cards he gave me and his address on the back was 8441 Northfield, Oak Park, Michigan. So I was always of the impression he was from the Detroit area. I remember him to be a very kind and generous person who really enjoyed meeting both old and new friends when arriving in Calumet. He was a real gentleman in all regards.
I not only knew J.D. McCarthy, but was also good friends with George Brunet, who was from my hometown, Calumet, Michigan.
George was quite a character and returned home every winter until his mother and father passed away. After his major league career ended in 1971, he was persuaded by his friend Chico Carrasquel, a former shortstop with the Indians and White Sox, to go down to Mexico. He continued to pitch and later manage down there until his death in 1992. George loved to come home for deer hunting and catch up on what was happening locally with his old buddies. Many of us would regularly travel to Detroit and Milwaukee to watch George pitch against the Tigers and Braves. As a matter of fact, he pitched for the Braves himself in the early 1960's. We really had fun meeting his buddies on the various teams he played for over the years. Bob Buhl, Lew Burdette, Dean Chance, Bo Belinsky, Jimmy Piersall, Bob Rogers, Don Mincher and Jim Bouton were some of those we were able to meet. He also introduced me to Ted Williams when he pitched for the Senators and Williams was the manager. Ironically, Ted Williams was the first batter that George faced in the majors. He got Ted to ground out with the bases full to retire the side. George always kidded that it was all down hill from there. Actually, George had a pretty decent career in the majors from 1956-1971. He never really pitched for a good team during his prime and that kept him from accomplishing even more as a major leaguer. I nominated George for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan Hall of Fame and he was inducted in 1993.
—rerkkila